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book (design) story #105

otl aicher:
kritik am auto

verlag georg d.w. callwey, münchen, 1984
printer: kastner und callwey, münchen
size: 30 x 22 cm
designer: hans neudecker

this book by otl aicher (1922-1991) is critical of the automobile – but in a very dialectic way, as the subtitle suggests: difficult defense of the automobile against its idolisers.

aicher's standpoint: cars are a useful idea, but they have become fetish objects.

he criticises the design ideology of the "streamlined look" which actually lacks functionality. and a porsche is a car that is too fast for our roads.

the book design by hans neudecker (*1954), a coworker of aicher's in the "büro rotis", is very similar to the book in story 104. again, lots of nice drawings. lower-case setting of text is aicher's preferred style.

below some car design studies from the hfg ulm: a "functional" car – to look "sexy" was obviously not a function the ulm school had in mind...